CLOSE QUARTERS
Wild Tuesday will showcase marquee Open matchups
One year before she became a mother, Serena Williams lost to Karolina Pliskova at the U.S. Open. Now, one year after Williams became a mother, Pliskova will try to repeat the feat.
In the highlight of Tuesday’s scrumptious quartet of quarterfinal matches, Williams faces the player who last beat her at the Open in the powerful Czech right-hander who comes in with moxie.
Pliskova took out Williams in the 2016 Open semifinals in straight sets, overpowering the Compton legend. Pliskova also is not bashful about her chances in Tuesday’s Arthur Ashe Stadium night-card opener at 7 p.m.
“I really was feeling great that year,” said Pliskova, who went on to lose to Angelique Kerber in the 2016 Open final. “I’m feeling great now, too. But it was a different story in 2016. I was like a dark horse. I have a game to beat her. I know she has a big game, but I have a big game, too. I have a good serve. I have some weapons, too. There is always a chance for me.”
In her first Open as a mother, having given birth to Alexis Olympia during the 2017 Open, Williams has looked almost flawless, but she did at Wimbledon, too, before losing in the final. At age 36, Williams is one title away from tying Marg-Margaret Court’s record for most Grand Slam singles titles (24).
“I don’t really feel pressure because I’m on this journey of getting back too where I was,” said Williams, who spanked 18 aces in her fourth-round win over Kaia Kanepi. “I’m kind of enjoying that,, to be honest.
Patrick Mouratoglou, Wil-lliams’ coach, isis scouring 201616 Open tape so he can point outt things that went wrong in the Pliskova loss, knowing Williams will want to know why she lost.
“Obviously her serve,” Williams said when asked Pliskova’s top attribute. “She has a really good forehand. She doesn’t do a lot of things bad. Obviously I think she was No. 1 last year. She got there for a reason.”
With Wednesday’s Novak Djokovic-Roger Federer quarterfinal off, Tuesday’s feast of quarterfinals is a delicious substitute. Here’s a breakdown.
No. 3 Sloane Stephens vs. No. 19 Anastasija Sevastova: There’s only one Latvian New Yorkers cheer for madly, and that’s not Sevastova, but Kristaps Porzingis. Sevastova nearly took out the popular 24-year-old American in the Open quarters last year but blew a 3-1 lead in the third set. Sevastova has made the Open quarters now three straight years, but gone no further.
“Maybe third time lucky for me, maybe not,” she said.
No. 11 John Isner vs. No. 3 Juan Martin del Potro: The 6-foot-10 American serving machine, at age 33, is experiencing a late-career renaissance, making his first Open quarterfinal since 2011. Only one other American man has made the quarterfinals since — Sam Querrey last year.
The rise began the day before a March tournament in Miami where, according to sources, Isner had a sitdown with one of his coaches, David McPherson, about improving his mental game. It has worked. He won Miami and he looks like more of an all-around player. Isner even beat del Potro in Miami and called McPherson “the most underrated coach in tennis.”
The 2009 Open champion from Argentina, however, is lethal when healthy in Flushing, adding a sliced backhand to a piercing forehand to compensate for his wrist injuries. No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 9
Dominic Thiem: In a rematch of the French Open final, this would be a gigantic boost for the so-called “NextGen” set if Thiem can upset the defending Open champion. The top-seeded Spanish Bull thinks the world of Thiem, who hits a bigger ball than Nadal and has beaten him three times in 10 attempts. All their matches oddly were fought on clay — Nadal’s top surface.
The 25-year-old Austrian hadn’t made the quarterfinals of a slam other than the French, where he lost in June in the finals to Nadal.
“He’s a fantastic player,’’ Nadal said. “He’s a very powerful player. He deserves to be where he is. I need to play my best match of the tournament.”
Last year at the Open, Thiem blew a 2-0 lead to del Potro. There’s hope Thiem still has Grand Slam great-greatness in him when thee Bigg 4 era ends.